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The system, known as the CTID, is run as an app on WeChat, the Chinese equivalent to WhatsApp, according to People's Daily Online, citing Guangzhou Daily.

To use the app, the user's would need to download it onto their phone then put their personal information into the app, which is connected to the national police database.

The user would also be required to take a picture of themselves as part of the verification process, and set up a password.

All of the user's information would be sent to the police, who would confirm its authenticity.

Once the registration is complete, the user would receive a digital ID card in their WeChat.

The system is being tested in Guangdong before being rolled out across China in January

The user needs to take a picture of themselves, input personal information and set a password

When the user is required to prove their identity by a third party, they just need to use the app to scan a particular QR code supplied by the third party before using the CTID app to scan their face.

The system would then verify the user's identity by comparing their face to the information in the system and send the result to the third party. The whole process takes just a few seconds.

The Chinese authority launched the system in Guangdong Province, in southern China, on December 25.

It's currently testing the system before activating it across the country next month, according to plan.

Commenting on the app's security, a police officer from Guangzhou, the provincial capital of Guangdong, said the new virtual ID system would be safer than the traditional physical identification card.

The app would send the information back to the police for verification before issuing a digital ID. Pictured, China's first digital ID card is being issued in Guangzhou on December 25

The police officer, named Yan Dong, told Guangzhou Television Station: 'If someone steals your physical ID card, it would be possible for them to make a photocopy of it then go to apply for bank cards or credit cards.

'As for the online ID card, unless he steals your face and fingerprints which is nearly impossible, he would not be able to do the same.'

According to People's Daily Online, if the digital ID user loses their phone, all they need to do is to log into their WeChat account on another machine, then they would be able to delete their digital ID, or change their password.